1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to video playback. More particularly, the present invention relates to video placement on a display during video playback.
2. Background Art
Video playback devices, such as Blu-ray players, may sometimes be equipped with the capability of playing a secondary video concurrently on top of a primary video, using a secondary video decoder to provide a “picture-in-picture” feature. This feature can be leveraged to provide, for example, zoomed in details, alternative camera angles or shots, video commentary, or other supplementary video content concurrently with the primary video. For example, audio-only director or cast commentaries can be replaced with more engaging video commentaries, and movie sets might be shown without special effects in the secondary video to allow viewer comparison. Since the secondary video only occupies a small portion of the screen, original content playing as the primary video can still be viewed. By using a remote control or some other input device, a viewer might enable or disable the secondary video in a setup menu accessible before the start of the primary video, or within a pop-up configuration menu.
Unfortunately, due to program limitations inherent in many of these video playback devices, changing placement of the secondary video during playback is often limited or unsupported. This may distract viewers, who are unable to freely move the secondary video to an unobtrusive position of their own choosing to optimize personal viewing conditions. While some video playback devices may allow, for example, placement reconfiguration in a separate setup screen, this placement reconfiguration may require an abrupt stop and restart to any currently playing primary video in the background, inconveniencing viewers by disrupting the flow of playback.
Accordingly, there is a need to overcome the drawbacks and deficiencies in the art by, for example, providing a way to control secondary video with flexible user defined positioning even during playback of primary video on a display.